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What are the best loudspeakers under $4000 to re-create lifelike piano

Over the past 4 months I've spent time with five loudspeakers.  On a scale of 1-10 I'd rate them as follows in their ability (with my equipment in my room) to recreate a lifelike piano.  Tekton Lore - 6.5 (great scale but tonal accuracy and clarity somewhat lacking),    Kef LS50 - 7.0 (moderate scale but slightly better clarity and tonal accuracy)  Kef R500 - 8.0  (great scale and very good clarity and tonal accuracy), Spatial Audio M3TurboS -8.1 (great scale and very good clarity and tonal accuracy and very smooth)  Magnepan 1.7i - 9.0 (very good scale with excellent clarity and tonal accuracy - very lifelike).

In your room with your equipment, what loudspeakers are you listening too and how would you rate them for their ability to recreate a lifelife piano and if possible a few comments as to why?
snapsc
inna
7,132 posts
 
If your source is digital - forget about it, once and for all. If analogue - you could try to approximate but I am afraid $4k won't be enough.
newbee
4,751 posts
 
I don't think a lot about this any longer, but some food for thought -

When do you think they will ever develope a recording process that will come even close to giving you a source accurate enough to judge a speaker's real ability to reproduce a piano. Perhaps that is more of the problem than developing a speaker which can. Hummmmmm!
1markr
592 posts
 
@newbee  +1; couldn’t agree more!
snapsc OP
661 posts
 
The thing is that when you pick a loudspeaker it's probably because it transports you to the concert... or because it plays loud cleanly... or because it throws a gigantic image...and more.  Since the piano is hard to do, especially at $4k or less... it seems worth exploring which loudspeakers do it well...even if the recordings themselves are imperfect.
rackon
301 posts
 
You want coherence, scale and timbral accuracy for piano reproduction, and that's a tall order for moderately priced speakers. We did extensive auditioning last spring - have to admit that we hated the LS50s (didn't go low enough + clangy on upper range on piano, then they were hard and glassy on massed strings besides ). I know thousands love these speakers but I cordially hated them.

Our favorites were the GoldenEar Triton 2+ at $3500 (and 3+ at $2500), B&W CM10s at $4500. We're buying the GoldenEars - great driver integration, coherent top to bottom, give you the scale of the music, easy to drive and place. Past experience tells me Vandies and Maggies also excel in coherence and scale.

We both play piano, go to live concerts and have a Steinway in the studio.
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